Podcasts about immersive

ICYMI: Hour Three of ‘Later, with Mo'Kelly' Presents – Chris Merrill filling in ‘Later, for Mo'Kelly' with thoughts on the announcement of Taylor Swift's engagement to Travis Kelce AND Gen-Z's annoying penchant for making up new words for no reason at all…PLUS – A Disney Imagineer has partnered City of Hope to create an “immersive spiritual healing space” - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app & YouTube @MrMoKelly

Two of Elon Musk's companies are suing Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of hurting competition in artificial intelligence. Plus, a look at new immersive experiences coming from Netflix on the heels of the success of KPop Demon Hunters. 

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Ali Miller, General Manager of Advertising & Tim Castelli, VP of Ad Sales at Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 85,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Follow Ali on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/about-ali-miller/Follow Tim on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timcastelli/Follow Instacart Ads online at: https://www.instacart.com/company/adsAli & Tim answer these questions:Instacart has been rapidly expanding its retail media capabilities—what's the overarching vision for Instacart Ads in the next 1–3 years?How does Instacart differentiate its retail media network from others in the increasingly crowded landscape?What role does AI or machine learning play in Instacart's ad platform today—and how might that evolve?How are CPG brands using Instacart Ads to drive full-funnel outcomes—from awareness to conversion?What kinds of insights or shopper data are most valuable to brands—and how does Instacart deliver those responsibly?Instacart has quickly expanded its offering over the last few years to include ad products like shoppable video and display, and more recently, inspiration formats. What's been the reception from brands and shoppers?Measurement and incrementality are top-of-mind for advertisers. How is Instacart helping brands understand true performance across the path to purchase?Are there plans to integrate Instacart Ads more directly with broader omnichannel or media mix modeling tools?With more retailers launching their own RMNs, how does Instacart fit into—or compete with—those ecosystems? CPG Guys Website: http://CPGguys.comFMCG Guys Website: http://FMCGguys.comCPG Scoop Website: http://CPGscoop.comRhea Raj's Website: http://rhearaj.comLara Raj in Katseye: https://www.katseye.world/DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.

This week writer and director Eliza McNitt joins us to talk about Venice Immersive, the annual XR extravaganza inside the Venice International Film Festival, where at this year's event she is the President of Venice Immersive's International Jury, which will judge the 30 pieces in competition.SHOW NOTESVenice ImmersiveVenice Immersive 2025: XR Experiences To Stoke Your FOMO (A NoPro Guide)Ancestra (YouTube) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luxury isn't about excess anymore. It isn't the jam-packed itineraries, the bursting closets, or the endless noise. The new luxury is about sanctuary, authenticity, and quiet moments that actually restore you.   In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly what this shift means and why quiet, immersive travel will be your antidote to burnout in 2026 and beyond. We'll talk...   How “hospitality as sanctuary” is redefining luxury travel and why fewer choices can actually feel more indulgent. Why authenticity is the ultimate form of access, and how insider moments matter more than tourist checklists.  What “quiet luxury” really means outside of fashion, and how you can weave it into your everyday life through simple rituals.  How I design my retreats in the French Riviera around depth, not distraction, so my guests can truly soften, reset, and be cared for. By the end of this episode, you'll see that true luxury isn't about what you accumulate, it's about how you live, slowly, intentionally, and beautifully. Because luxury isn't something you buy, it's something you create.   Useful Resources:

I spoke with Juliana Loh about creating immersive art in VR and AR as a part of my Raindance Immersive 2025 coverage. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

I spoke with ReVerse Butcher & Kylie Supski about The Continuous Present as a part of my Raindance Immersive 2025 coverage. See more context in the rough transcript below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL_2L0jzUhA This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

I spoke with Anders Fray (aka Ders) & Starheart about Natura's Queendom as a part of my Raindance Immersive 2025 coverage. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

I spoke with Venice Immersive curators Liz Rosenthal & Michel Reilhac about sneak peak of their 2025 selection, which is their largest selection yet. See more context in the rough transcript below. Here's an Venice Immersive Program Cheat Sheet by Voices of VR podcast (PDF), which has an overview of the four categories of immersive experiences ordered by longest booking times to shortest (amount of time required for scheduling purposes) as well as the actual runtime, the number of people who can see it per slot, and then the number of people who can see it per day. This should hopefully help for your scheduling process. I typically book experiences to roughly corresponding to hours. The Biennale scheduling website will open up on Thursday, August 21st, and it will not let you double book yourself. So I personally find it easier to book the longer experiences first, and then fill out my schedule with shorter experiences, and then experiences that generally have higher capacity. Note that Ancestors (capacity of 48 people), and L'Ombre (capacity of 50 people), and each of the VRChat sessions only have one booking time per day, and so these are also worth prioritizing if you want to see them and they should have lots of capacity throughout the week. The One the Other Earth may be one of the more logistically difficult experiences to see as you'll need to make a trek up to the main Venice island. I'd recommend trying to keep your schedule clear for at least an hour before and afterwards. Here's a Venice Immersive Schedule Helper that I put together to help navigate the schedule. Here's a placeholder for my other coverage of Venice Immersive 2025 to be updated after the festival. Venice Airport to Lido Island The best way to get to Lido from the Venice airport is either via the Red or Blue Line of the Alilaguna Public Transport water taxi, which you can get tickets either after you come out of customs or you can go to the water taxi dock at the Venice airport, and there's a booth there.  Picking up badge at Palazzo del Casinò I usually pick up my badge at the bottom of the Palazzo del Casinò, which is at Lungomare Guglielmo Marconi, 1861, 30126 Lido VE, Italy Venezia 2000 to the VR Island (Lazzaretto Vecchio) The best way to get to the VR Island of Lazzaretto Vecchio from the docks is the bus. The buses leave every 15-20 minutes, and it's a 3 minute ride, and another 5 minute walk to the island. Here is a link to the bus route and the addresses. I believe it is either the A, N, or C or CE routes. I believe the bus stop names are S.Maria Elisabetta and then I get off at the Gallo Sant'Antonio stop. The address of the VR island is Isola del Lazzaretto Vecchio, Lazzaretto Vecchio, 30100 Venezia VE, Italy There is a water taxi that you can find the pick-up spot by looking at the google map and get directions there. It takes 1 minute of a ride, but there is only one taxi that can be a 10-15 minute wait depending on how busy it is. Also be sure to check out XR Must's interview with Liz and Michel, which I found a lot of helpful info in. Some of the artist statement videos are starting to get posted onto the BiennaleChannel YouTube page. Here's a list Best of Experiences and Best of Worlds from VRChat that are already available if you'd like to get a head start on this year's program. Already Released - BEST OF EXPERIENCES The Midnight Walk Ghost Town One True Path, Part 1 Wall Town Wonders D-Day: The Camera Soldier - Apple Vision Pro Submerged - Apple Vision Pro Adventure: Ice Dive - Apple Vision Pro Already Released - BEST OF WORLDS - VRChat links included vent. by Premium² What is Virtual Art – Volume 1 by Jessien FLASHING WARNING by xlxxl Flat Earth by Niko Lang Neuron by Juice… Powdergame by Pema Malling [NOT REPLAYABLE YET] FZMZ Pointzero by ReeeznD [VR_SMEJ] よるとうげ -Yorutouge- by mikkabouzu / Kikuo [VR_SMEJ]

Marty talks about the latest Gurman opinion about the lackluster amount of spatial video available for the AVP and implications for the futureFollow the live stream at YouTube.com/@VisionProfiles on Monday nights at 9 PM EST or catch the video later on Youtube or audio on any pod catcher serviceToday's ProNote: Apple's Vision Pro Is Suffering From a Lack of Immersive Videohttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-08-17/why-doesn-t-the-vision-pro-have-more-immersive-video-apple-is-slow-rolling-it-mefmwpb1 ·   Core problem: Vision Pro remains niche due to the $3,499 price and a lack of must‑have features; visionOS 26 polish (e.g., widgets) hasn't shifted perception.·   Immersive video = killer app… but scarce: Apple has slow‑rolled releases—about 27 total—so owners often feel there's little to watch.·   Concrete gaps: still promoting NBA All‑Star 2024 while no 2025 immersive version exists months later; concerts are limited (Metallica, Bono; a short Weeknd clip).·   Series are thin: Wild Life (4 eps), Elevated (1), Boundless (2), Adventure (5), Prehistoric Planet (2), Concert for One (1).·   3D ≠ truly immersive: 3D Disney/Harry Potter/James Bond titles don't deliver the all‑around‑you feel of Apple's immersive videos.·   Why the drip‑feed: Apple shot a lot of immersive content, but production is expensive and resource‑intensive; with slow sales, Apple is metering releases to avoid draining the reserve.·   Catch‑22: Immersive video is what sells the headset, yet low sales make a big content push hard to justify—leading to a standstill.·   Retail angle: Apple leans on immersive video in store demos because it's the strongest “wow” moment.·   Sales reality: Estimates suggest well under 1M U.S. units since launch, weakening the case for heavy near‑term spend on programming.·   Roadmap tension: A faster‑chip refresh could land this year (incremental), while a cheaper, lighter model isn't expected until 2027—risking today's content feeling dated by the time mass adoption arrives.·   Third‑party pipeline: Apple released a Mac app for immersive production and partnered with Blackmagic; a racing doc is due next month—but partners likely won't bridge the gap if Apple doesn't go big.·   Bottom line: Vision Pro's best trick is immersive video, but until Apple expands the library, it remains an impressive demo more than a reason to buy.Email: ThePodTalkNetwork@gmail.com. Website: ThePodTalk.Net 

Stephen Grootes speaks to Duncan McLeod, Founder and Editor at Techcentral, about Vodacom's acquisition of a 30% stake in Maziv receiving approval from the Competition Appeal Court, marking a significant milestone in the R13 billion fibre merger deal. In other interviews, the SecreEats Events Director for South Africa, Darren Meltz, chats about the return of Secret Cinema, an immersive cinematic experience in Johannesburg featuring exclusive screenings, high tea, and bespoke cocktails in an elegant, secretive setting. The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape. Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Money Show Listen live Primedia+ weekdays from 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) to The Money Show with Stephen Grootes broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/7QpH0jY or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/PlhvUVe Subscribe to The Money Show Daily Newsletter and the Weekly Business Wrap here https://buff.ly/v5mfetc The Money Show is brought to you by Absa Follow us on social media 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/702 on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalkCapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalkCapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/Radio702CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wandering Tavern presents:  "RIFT" by Nancy E. Dunne  Narrated by William Walker! Stay up to date with Nancy's new releases (and her doggos) at nancyedunne.com Learn more about William Walker HERE Visit thewanderingtavern.com! Follow @TWTavern on Instagram!

Episode Summary: In this high-energy episode, hosts Ryan Lang and Brook Bishop share their transformative experience from a recent Arizona trip where they accomplished more in two days than they had in six months. They dive deep into the power of environmental shifts, concentrated focus without time barriers, and the magic that happens when you're willing to step away from the daily grind to work ON your business instead of just IN it. Discover how immersion, strategic isolation, and being around other high-performers can unlock breakthrough results in record time.Key Takeaways:• (02:27) Concentrated focus is magic - When you remove time barriers and distractions, extraordinary things become possible in compressed timeframes• (08:34) Working IN vs. ON the business - The critical distinction between daily task execution and strategic deep work that actually moves the needle• (13:49) Environmental immersion unlocks creativity - How changing elevation, temperature, sleep patterns, and social connections literally rewires your neural pathways for better ideas• (15:52) Going until the outcome is done - Why abandoning artificial time constraints and pushing through to completion creates exponential results• (25:21) The power of high-frequency people - Being around others who think bigger and commit to outcomes elevates your own standards and possibilities• (29:25) State management drives solutions - Comfortable environments produce comfortable solutions; uncomfortable environments force breakthrough thinkingNotable Quotes:• "When we're willing to kind of take the gas, you know, foot off the accelerator and slow down, and even in some cases come to a complete stop, we got more gas in the tank and we're able to come out of the gates fast and truly accelerate." (02:13)• "Time is qualitative, not quantitative... everything just slowed down. There we weren't thinking about time." (03:02)• "We often have these paradigms around how long something is going to take mainly because we're fucking distracted the whole time." (19:16)• "If you just want to play small, you don't have to do this kind of shit. You don't. You can go hang out in your normal environment with your normal friends, having your normal conversations." (27:18)• "When we're in a comfortable environment, we come up with comfortable solutions. When we go put ourselves in an uncomfortable environment, we come up with uncomfortable solutions." (29:25)Resources Mentioned:• Cal Newport's book: Deep Work - The difference between busy work and concentrated focus• Empire Partners Upcoming Event - www.empirepartners.net/event• Official Podcast Website - www.coachingequation.com Ready to experience the power of immersive focus? Stop waiting for the "perfect time" and start creating breakthrough moments. Join Ryan and Brook at their next quarterly event September 17-20, 2025 in Fort Collins, where you'll step out of your routine, get around other high-performers, and accomplish more in three days than most people do in months. Visit www.empirepartners.net/event for details, and if you need help getting creative with resources, just reach out - they've got a hundred ways to make it work.Connect with Empire Partners: Loved this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and visit www.coachingequation.com to drop them a voice note - Ryan gets as excited as a school girl when he receives them! Ready to transform your business through strategic immersion? Your breakthrough is waiting.

This week, Phil Bothun joins the show to craft the DEFINITIVE list of the best Immersive Sim games! Plus, Patrick gives his extended thoughts on the polarizing Mafia: The Old Country.  Timecodes What we're playing - 12:45 What is an Immersive Sim? - 38:27 Ranking Immersive Sims - 51:30   Follow us! www.dropindropoutpod.com Bluesky, YouTube, IG, Threads and TikTok @spotlightgamespod Twitch.tv/spotlightgamespod Join our discord! https://discord.gg/Vxvp2sX64Z Email the show: mail@spotlightgames.net RSS Feed: https://spotlightgames.libsyn.com/rss Spotlight Games Theme by Chike Okaro @bassicfun Thanks for listening! 

Morgan Stanley Research looks at how changes in demographics, ownership, and distribution can boost tech adoption to revolutionize the global sports industry. Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Cesar Medina: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Cesar Medina, Morgan Stanley's Latin America Technology, Media, and Telecom Analyst. Today – we discuss what's driving the digital revolution in global sports. And what it means for fans as well as investors. It's Monday, August 11th, at 10am in New York.These days, watching a sporting event at home usually means streaming the big game on a large 4K HDR screen. Maybe even 8K for premium events. You might access real time stats from a supporting app or social media on a secondary device. Maybe even have a group chat with friends. But imagine a game with real-time personalized stats. Immersive alternate camera angles. Or even experiencing the match from a player's perspective—all powered by AI. These innovations are already being tested and rolled out in select leagues. Global sports generates half a trillion dollars in annual revenues. Despite all that cash, until very recently the industry was slow to embrace digital technology, lagging behind movies and music. Now that's changing – and fast.So, what's driving this transformation? Three powerful forces are closing this digital gap. One – younger, tech-savvy audiences demanding more immersive and personalized experiences. Two – new distribution models, with digital platforms stepping into the arena. And three – institutional investment, bringing capital and a push for modernization. You might ask – what does this all mean for fans, investors, and the future of entertainment? Let's start with fans. Today's sports fans aren't just watching—they're interacting, betting, gaming, and sharing. And younger fans are leading the charge. They are spending more time online and expect hyper-personalized content. They're more interested in individual athletes than teams, and they engage through social media, fantasy sports, and interactive platforms. Surveys show that fans under 35 are significantly more likely to spend money on sports if the experience is digital-first. Some leagues have seen viewership jump by 40 percent after introducing interactive features. Others are using AI to personalize content, boosting engagement and revenue. Digital transformation isn't just about watching games though—it's about reimagining the entire ecosystem. When it comes to live events, smart venues are using AI to adjust ticket prices based on weather, opposing team, and demand. Some are even using facial recognition for faster entry and purchases. Streaming platforms are making broadcasts more interactive, while combating piracy with predictive tech. As for engagement, fantasy sports, esports, and betting are booming. AI-driven platforms are helping fans make smarter picks—and spend more. Altogether, these innovations could boost global sports revenues by over 25 percent, adding more than $130 billion in value. While North America leads in monetization, Emerging Markets are catching up fast. In India, Brazil, and the Middle East, for example, sports franchises are seeing double-digit growth in value—sometimes outpacing traditional media. And here's the kicker: many of these regions have younger populations and faster-growing digital adoption. That's a recipe for serious growth. Meanwhile, niche sports and women's leagues are also gaining global traction, expanding the definition of mainstream entertainment. Of course, this transformation of the sports industry faces real hurdles—technical expertise, budget constraints, and cultural resistance among coaches and athletes. But the incentives are clear. And as more capital flows into sports—from private equity to sovereign wealth funds—digital transformation is becoming a strategic priority. So, what's the biggest takeaway? Global sports is no longer just about what happens on the field. It's about how fans experience it—on their phones, in their homes, and in the stadiums of the future. So whether you're an investor, a fan, or just someone who loves a good underdog story, this is a game worth watching. Thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share Thoughts on the Market with a friend or colleague today.

Marty covers two stories related to the new Vision Pro immersive video on orangutans.Latest Apple Vision Pro immersive video now available for freehttps://9to5mac.com/2025/08/09/apple-vision-pro-wild-life-immersive-video/Why Apple's Vision Pro Finally Has the Content Library It Deserveshttps://mixed.reality.news/news/why-apples-vision-pro-finally-has-the-content-library-it-deserves/Follow the live stream of Vision ProFiles at YouTube.com/@VisionProfiles on Monday nights at 9 PM EST or catch the video later on Youtube or audio on any pod catcher serviceEmail: ThePodTalkNetWork@gmail.comWebsite: ThePodTalk.Net

Strap in folks, do I have an show for you this week. I am being joined by not just one but two guests for this special episode. I am being joined by Natalie and Stephanie, Sisters and Co-Founders of Immersive Spirit. Whether you need spiritual coaching, intuitive mediumship, energy healing, or help with a haunting; these ladies got you covered. Join us for a fun conversation where we learn about their paranormal history and talk about so many different paranormal topics that I didn't want the conversation to end. Immersive Spirit: https://www.immersivespirit.com/ Uncensored, Untamed & Unapologetic U^3 Podcast Collective: https://www.facebook.com/groups/545827736965770/?ref=share Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@juggalobastardpodcasts?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8xJ2KnRBKlYvyo8CMR7jMg

On this episode of the AI/XR Podcast, Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz, and Rony Abovitz welcome Brent Bushnell, co-founder of DreamPark, for an energizing conversation about the future of mixed reality entertainment. Brent shares how DreamPark turns public spaces into interactive theme parks using Meta Quest 3 headsets, enabling immersive gameplay on city streets, at malls, and even music festivals. The hosts reflect on the legacy of Magic Leap, the overlooked brilliance of the Magic Leap game Dr. Grordbort's Invaders, made exclusively for Magic Leap by New Zealand's WETA studio. Rony compares Brent's vision to Walt Disney, and the brainstorm an entire Dream Park business plan, discussing everything from retrofitting dead malls to launching pop-ups at Buc-ee's and Walmart. Along the way, they discuss the shortcomings of Apple Vision Pro, Magic Leap's lost potential, and the promise of scalable location-based XR. Equal parts XR therapy session and founder love-fest, this episode captures what happens when tech dreamers like Brent Bushnell find a working prototype.Thank you to our sponsor, Zappar!Don't forget to like, share, and follow for more! Follow us on all socials @TheAIXRPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/thisweekinxr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textWatch the video!https://youtu.be/SQLdzK6KY7QIn the News blog post for August 8, 2025:https://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2025/08/in-the-news790.html 00:00 Thank you LIT SOFTWARE for sponsoring this episode!00:45 Apple Succession Planning10:26 September Speculation18:43 Location Based AI20:59 Spatial CarPlay25:33 MagBoostChargePro31:01 Thank you LIT SOFTWARE for sponsoring this episode!38:24 Immersive Orangutans43:07 In the Show! Slow Chiefs47:45 Can't You Just Trust Me?50:55 Brett's Apple Watch Tip: Water Lock and Eject Water55:00 Jeff's Apple Watch Tip: The Apple Watch on VacationSponsor: LIT SOFTWARE www.litsoftware.comThe Org: A Look Back at All of Apple's CEOsWilliam Gallagher | Apple Insider: One of these three Apple executives will probably be Tim Cook's replacementTim Hardwick | MacRumors: Apple iPhone 17 Event Set for September 9, German Carrier Sources ClaimRyan Christoffel | 9to5Mac: iOS 26 beta adds surprise Apple Maps feature that could prove very usefulRyan Christoffel | 9to5Mac: CarPlay in iOS 26 has a new, improved solution for phone callsZac Hall | 9to5Mac: Lotus is the latest carmaker to upgrade CarPlaySimon Jary | Macworld: Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank Qi2 review: fun colors and top battery scoresJeff's List of All of Apple's Immersive Video content for the Apple Vision ProRyan Christoffel | 9to5Mac: Apple TV+ is getting its best fall lineup ever, here's everything newBrett's Apple Watch Tip: Water Lock and Eject Waterhttps://support.apple.com/en-us/108352  Jeff's Apple Watch Tip: The Apple Watch on Vacation: Numerals Duo watch faceWeather (Carrot Weather - map)Text messagesEmailsFind MyMedia controlsSwimmingUnderwaterSupport the showBrett Burney from http://www.appsinlaw.comJeff Richardson from http://www.iphonejd.com

In this episode of IndieGameBusiness, we sit down with Sam Striker, Co-Founder and CEO of Native Darkness, to unpack the journey of building immersive audio-first games and what makes sound such a powerful force in storytelling.Sam walks us through the origin story of Native Darkness and their partnership with Ovani Sound. We explore the value of interactive audio, the differences between working with a dedicated audio studio versus an in-house team, and why custom sound design can make or break a game experience.We also dive into broader trends in game audio, the role of royalty-free vs. bespoke audio, and the importance of networking in the indie dev space. Whether you're a solo developer or a growing team, Sam's insights into building relationships, creating immersive worlds, and staying ahead in audio innovation will leave you inspired.#IndieGameBusiness #GameAudio #InteractiveSound #GameDev #NetworkingForDevshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/samstriker/https://www.instagram.com/samstrikerdotcom

Episode 198 of The Hitstreak, a podcast where we talk about anything and everything!  This week we are joined by the CEO and Co-Founder of Play Social, Jennifer Worthington!Episode in a Glance:In this episode of The Hitstreak, I sit down with Jennifer Worthington, CEO and co-founder of Play Playground, a rapidly growing immersive entertainment venue. We discuss the importance of personal responsibility, the evolution of entertainment, and the unique concept of Play Playground, which aims to foster social connections through play. Jennifer shares her journey from Hollywood film production to the hospitality industry, highlighting key lessons learned along the way. The episode also touches on marketing strategies in the digital age, the significance of resilience, and the future expansion plans for Play Playground.Key Points:- Teaching kids personal responsibility is crucial.- Immersive experiences are the future of entertainment.- Play Playground aims to create social connections.- The entertainment industry is evolving rapidly.- Valuable lessons about resilience.- Marketing today is more complex than ever.- Understanding your market is key to business success.- Failure is a part of the entrepreneurial journey.- Creating unique experiences is essential for success.About our guest: Jennifer Worthington is the CEO and Co-Founder of Play Social, one of the fastest-growing hospitality companies in the U.S., known for its immersive concept, Play Playground. A visionary entrepreneur, Jennifer has spent over two decades leading innovation in film, nightlife, and experiential entertainment. At just 23, she became Senior Vice President at Jerry Bruckheimer Films, contributing to blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean, Armageddon, and Black Hawk Down. She later transitioned from Hollywood to hospitality, launching successful nightlife ventures including the iconic Coyote Ugly Saloon in Las Vegas. Jennifer is also the author of The Spirit of Las Vegas, published by Assouline.  Now at the helm of Play Social, she's redefining adult entertainment through tech-driven, nostalgic play experiences that transform how people connect.An alumna of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and Harvard Business School's Women Leading Business program, Jennifer continues to shape the future of entertainment through creativity, leadership, and bold vision.Follow and contact:Instagram: @jenworthington | @play_playgroundwww.playplayground.comSubscribe to Nick's top-rated podcast The Hitstreak on Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/NickHite⁠rFollow and Rate us on Spotify: ⁠https://spotify.com/NickHiter⁠Follow and Rate us on Apple Podcast: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/NickHiter⁠Follow and Rate us on iHeartRadio: ⁠https://www.iheart.com/NickHiter

Holly's Headlines 8a Monday 8/4/25

In this episode of the Pre-hospital Care Podcast, we explore a cutting-edge innovation that's transforming how HEMS clinicians are trained for high-stakes, life-saving procedures, such as thoracotomy, resuscitative hysterotomy, and other HALO interventions. We're joined by Jamie, founder of Maxres, and Lily, a Critical Care Doctor, to discuss how immersive headset training is being introduced into clinical education, starting with the Thames Valley Air Ambulance.Jamie brings a unique perspective from his time as a pilot and helicopter flight instructor in the Royal Air Force, where he experienced first-hand the value of scenario-based, immersive learning. Combined with Lily's background as a prehospital critical care doctor, their expertise is helping shape a new frontier in clinical preparedness for the most complex and time-critical interventions.Together, we unpack how the MaxRes system works, the science behind its development, and the real-world impact it's having on clinical performance, confidence, and decision-making. We also look to the future, exploring how this technology could revolutionise pre-hospital education, expand into new clinical domains, and deliver highly realistic, repeatable, and effective training experiences.Whether you're a critical care paramedic, HEMS doctor, educator, or healthcare innovator, this episode offers an exciting look at where pre-hospital training is heading and how technology developed for the skies is now making a difference on the ground. Further information on MaxRes can be found here: https://maxres.ai/This episode is sponsored by PAX: The gold standard in emergency response bags.When you're working under pressure, your kit needs to be dependable, tough, and intuitive. That's exactly what you get with PAX. Every bag is handcrafted by expert tailors who understand the demands of pre-hospital care. From the high-tech, skin-friendly, and environmentally responsible materials to the cutting-edge welding process that reduces seams and makes cleaning easier, PAX puts performance first. They've partnered with 3M to perfect reflective surfaces for better visibility, and the bright grey interior makes finding gear fast and effortless, even in low light. With over 200 designs, PAX bags are made to suit your role, needs, and environment. And thanks to their modular system, many bags work seamlessly together, no matter the setup.PAX doesn't chase trends. Their designs stay consistent, so once you know one, you know them all. And if your bag ever takes a beating? Their in-house repair team will bring it back to life.PAX – built to perform, made to last.Learn more at pax-bags.com

Forget passive viewing. Audiences today want to step inside the story. From Super Nintendo World to Stranger Things pop-ups, immersive entertainment is on the rise. But what defines an “immersive” experience—and why is it suddenly everywhere?Noah Nelson, publisher of No Proscenium and co-founder of the Immersive Experience Institute, joins The Excerpt to explain how the pandemic accelerated demand, what designers are learning from escape rooms, and how new formats—from LARPs to “Monopoly Life-Size”—are reshaping entertainment across the U.S.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Plongez au cœur d'un fantasme andalou dans cet épisode envoûtant. À Séville, une voix mystérieuse vous guide à travers un palais caché, un hammam souterrain chargé d'histoire et de volupté. Sous les arches moresques et les mosaïques anciennes, un rituel charnel s'éveille. Des corps s'abandonnent à la chaleur de l'eau, aux caresses, aux regards... jusqu'à ce que le désir devienne irrésistible.Épisode immersif et sensuel – réservé aux adultesCe récit immersif mêle sensualité, tension érotique et voyage exotique, dans un décor où le passé oriental se mêle aux fantasmes les plus profonds. L'atmosphère est moite, intime, luxuriante – une invitation à lâcher prise.

Here's my interview with Ryan Cole, Vice President of Video Technology at Cosm, that was conducted on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, CA. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Here's my interview with Jason Marsh, CEO and Founder of Flow Immersive, that was conducted on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at Virtual Reality Strategy Conference in San Francisco, CA. This is part 2 of 3 of my conversations with Marsh, you can see part 1 from 2018 here and part 3 from 2025 here. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Here's my interview with Ray Kallmeyer, Founder and CEO of Enklu and their 22 Verse Immersive AR LBE locations, that was conducted on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, CA. See more context in the rough transcript below.

Here's my interview with Amy LaMeyer, Managing Partner of The WXR Fund and Angel Investor in VR, AR, AI space, that was conducted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 at Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, CA. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Here's my interview with Jason Marsh, Founder and CEO of Flow Immersive, that was conducted on Thursday, June 12, 2025 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, CA. This is part 3 of 3 of my conversations with Marsh, you can see part 1 from 2018 here and part 2 from 2019 here. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Here's my interview with Suzanne Borders, CEO and Co-Founder of BadVR, that was conducted on Thursday, November 11, 2021 at Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, CA. This is part 2 of my conversation with Borders, see part 1 here. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Here's my interview with Jason Marsh, CEO and Founder of Flow Immersive, that was conducted on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 at Virtual Reality Strategy Conference in San Francisco, CA. This is part 1 of 3 of my conversations with Marsh, you can see part 2 from 2019 here and part 3 from 2025 here. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Here's my interview with Suzanne Borders, CEO and Co-Founder of BadVR, that was conducted on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 at Magic Leap's LEAPCON in Los Angeles, CA. This is part 1 of my conversation with Borders, see part 2 here. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

The Wandering Tavern presents:  "Nick/Alice" by Darren Todd Narrated by William Walker! Check out more of Darren's chilling fiction HERE Learn more about William Walker HERE Visit thewanderingtavern.com! Follow @TWTavern on Instagram!

Chaque jour, deux chroniqueurs présentent les infos indispensables à connaître en matière de culture : les dernières actus musique, les sorties littéraires ou cinéma, les nouvelles pièces de théâtre et les séries à ne pas manquer… C'est ici ! Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Immersed – A Cinematic Immersive Album by Justin Gray, 60min,. Canada Directed by Justin Gray, Michael Fisher Justin Gray's Immersed is a groundbreaking cinematic album that transforms how audiences experience music. Composed, recorded, and produced as an immersive audio experience, the album features 38 artists from Toronto and around the globe, placing listeners at the center of a three-dimensional global orchestra. https://www.instagram.com/justingraysound/ Subscribe to the podcast: https://twitter.com/wildsoundpod https://www.instagram.com/wildsoundpod/ https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundpod

In this packed episode of Geek Freaks, Frank and Thomas unpack the latest Fantastic Four film, breaking down the performances, emotional stakes, and character portrayals, especially Vanessa Kirby's standout role. Then, Thomas shares his experience attending San Diego Comic-Con 2025 — from exclusive panels and cosplay trends to immersive brand activations. Finally, Frank interviews Cindy Mich, a veteran journalist, filmmaker, and founder of the Art is Alive Film Festival. Cindy opens up about her career, the importance of independent media, the legacy of her late partner, and her current work telling the story of Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser. Timestamps and Topics: 00:00 Intro and the Comic-Con crash 00:18 Fantastic Four: First reactions 01:15 Vanessa Kirby's Invisible Woman and standout moments 03:26 Emotional themes and fatherhood in the film 04:36 Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards: hit or miss? 06:33 MCU leadership and what's next for the team 08:11 Johnny Storm's surprising arc 09:45 Team intelligence and the Silver Surfer escape 10:11 Darker moments and MCU boldness 11:57 Final ratings and hopes for a director's cut 13:00 Comic-Con coverage: booths, exclusives, and cosplay 15:04 Artist Alley and the return of comics to SDCC 16:06 Standout panels: Jim Lee, Patton Oswalt, George Lucas 22:26 Thomas speaks at SDCC panel on video games and mental health 27:42 Immersive brand activations: Old Spice x Superman 30:46 AMC's Fantastic Four popcorn buckets and more 31:19 Why local cons matter and tips for first-timers 34:39 Interview: Cindy Mich's journey from radio to film festivals 36:03 Why she got into journalism 38:58 Being real in media and staying authentic 43:12 Choosing mediums: print vs radio vs TV 46:42 Art is Alive Film Festival's growth and mission 50:25 Telling Ben Lesser's story and Holocaust remembrance 57:00 Balancing passion and loss: her late partner's influence 01:12:47 Cindy's advice for aspiring creatives 01:18:15 Comic and show recommendations 01:19:29 Closing thoughts Key Takeaways: Fantastic Four feels like a return to early MCU form, with solid performances and emotional depth, especially around themes of parenting and sacrifice. Vanessa Kirby shines as Invisible Woman, and Pedro Pascal brings a unique (if divisive) take on Reed Richards. Thomas shares exclusive San Diego Comic-Con highlights including immersive brand experiences and deep, impactful panels. Cindy Mich shares insights into building trust as a journalist, embracing multiple mediums, and running a purpose-driven film festival. The Art is Alive Film Festival doesn't just screen films — it educates and supports indie filmmakers with real tools and exposure. Cindy is working on a film about Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser and another film honoring her late partner, blending healing and legacy. Quotes: “I won't give up my kid for the world, but I won't give up the world for my kid either.” — Thomas, quoting Fantastic Four “If there's somebody you admire at a con, go talk to them. They're there for you.” — Thomas “You can do anything as long as you're persistent and patient.” — Cindy Mich “My goal is to help artists be seen — not just screened.” — Cindy Mich Call to Action: If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Geek Freaks on your favorite podcast app, leave us a review, and share the show with your fellow geeks! Use the hashtag #GeekFreaksPod to join the conversation online. Links and Resources:

Episode 69 of What Gives?—the Jewish philanthropy podcast from Jewish Funders Network, hosted by JFN President and CEO Andrés Spokoiny. In this episode, we speak with Elias Saratovsky, President and CEO of the Birthright Israel Foundation. As Birthright turns 25, we reflect not just on the nearly 900,000 young Jews who've visited Israel through this transformative program, but on how immersive travel, identity, and belonging are being reimagined for a new generation. Elias shares his personal story, from growing up in a family of Soviet Jewish immigrants with little Jewish identity, to going on the very first Birthright trip in 1999, to now stewarding the future of the most ambitious Jewish educational initiative of our time. Elias and Andrés explore how Birthright adapted through a pandemic and a war, why pride and not propaganda is its most powerful product, and how a second trip to Israel might be even more important than the first. Take a listen.

In this episode of the Transform Sales Podcast: Sales Software Review Series, Dave Menjura ☁, Marketplace Specialist at CloudTask, is joined by Schuyler Van Sickle, Founder & CEO at 3MERA, a company revolutionizing sales with immersive product demos. 3MERA transforms CAD into photorealistic showrooms, AR demos, eCommerce integration, and real-time analytics, helping sales teams present complex products in a more engaging and effective way. Schuyler shares how 3MERA simplifies product demonstrations by converting 3D models into accessible, user-friendly AR and VR experiences. This technology enables Account Executives to provide virtual product demos without the need for costly on-site visits or time-consuming content creation. Schuyler also discusses how 3MERA's platform supports manufacturers by offering a streamlined solution for showcasing industrial equipment, power tools, and other complex products. Listeners will learn how 3MERA helps sales teams accelerate the sales process, reduce content creation costs, and improve customer engagement through immersive digital experiences. Schuyler emphasizes the platform's flexibility, enabling teams to create AR and VR demos without needing developers or technical expertise. Try 3MERA here: https://software.cloudtask.com/3mera-2662ae #TransformSales #SalesSoftware #3MERA #CloudTask #SalesAutomation #AR #VR

Dr. Olivia McAnirlin, Co-Director of the Virtual Reality and Nature Lab at Clemson University, joins co-host Dr. Lynn Harter to reflect on her use of 360-degree virtual reality storytelling in working with patients and families who cannot revisit memorable places in nature.  Olivia developed the concept of TandemVRTM to regift nature and recreation experiences for people facing precarious circumstances including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Immersive storytelling is uniquely equipped to transport participants to cherished outdoor places, a process with therapeutic potential for both patients and loved ones. You can read Olivia's article in the journal Health Communication at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2329423

In this episode of Working Class Audio, Matt welcomes Engineer & Producer Stefan Bock. His credits include productions for Peter Maffay, Herbert Grönemeyer, Sarah Brightman, Yello, 2L, Berliner Philharmoniker and Deutsche Grammophon. Due to his expertise in the field of immersive audio, Stefan Bock is a renown speaker at international congresses, including those of the Audio Engineering Society and the Association of German Sound Engineers. He is also a regular lecturer at the ARD.ZDF Medienakademie. In This Episode, We Discuss: Being Too Early Inventions Immersive Audio Pure Audio Streaming MSM Studios The Beauty of Niche Good Acoustics Links and Show Notes: Pure Audio Streaming MSM Studios Matt's Rant: Nerd Groups Credits: Guest: Stefan Bock Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell The Voice: Chuck Smith

Et si vous pouviez vivre le défilé du 14 juillet comme si vous étiez à bord du "command-car" présidentiel ? C'est la promesse de la société Immersive Flashback, pionnière du film en stéréoscopie 180° pour casque Apple Vision Pro qui a filmé l'événement avec une caméra spéciale. Le cofondateur d'Immersive Flashback, Frank-David Cohen, raconte comment cette expérience inédite a été réalisée, et pourquoi elle pourrait bien représenter l'avenir de la vidéo immersive.Dans cet épisode on se penche sur :La genèse d'un projet inédit au cœur de l'ÉlyséeLes coulisses de la captation immersive du défilé du 14 juillet 2025Les défis techniques d'un tournage en mouvement avec une caméra de cinéma 3DPourquoi l'immersion à 180° surpasse le 360° dans certains usagesLes promesses (et les limites actuelles) du marché de la vidéo immersiveL'impact du casque Apple Vision Pro sur l'écosystème de la réalité mixteEt si les agences de voyage ou la SNCF utilisaient demain ces formats pour vous « téléporter » ailleurs ?-----------

I spoke with Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster, & idris brewster about There Goes Nikki at Tribeca Immersive 2025. See more context in the rough transcript below. (Photo by Mikhail Mishin courtesy of Onassis ONX) Tribeca Immersive 2025 Selection #1567: Tribeca Immersive Curators on the 2025 Selection of Impact Projects Curated by Onassis ONX, Agog, & Tribeca #1569: Family of Storytellers Creates an AR Memorial of Black Poet Nikki Giovanni with Epic Organic Garden Installation #1570: "The Founders Pillars and The Power Loom" Uses AR to Recontextualize Wall Street History Through African Textiles and Myths #1571: "Uncharted VR" Explores the Spatialization of African Languages and Knowledge through Immersive Architecture and Adowa Dance #1572: "The Innocence of Unknowing" Uses Socratic Dialogue with AI & Video Essay to Deconstruct Root Cases of Gun Violence #1573: Muslim Futurist "New Maqam City" Invites Users to Play with Mystic Sufi Beats to Imagine States of Flourishing #1574: Part 1: Co-Creation with XR for Building Community with "A Father's Lullaby" (2023) #1575: Part 2: Co-Creation with XR for Building Community with "A Father's Lullaby" (2025) Boreal Dreams Scent Onassis ONX Summer Showcase & Other Interviews #1579: The Backstory of ONX Studios and the Onassis Foundation's Support for XR Art & Innovation #1580: "Neuro-Cinema: From Synapse to Montage" Explores Bioethics Moral Dilemmas & BCI-Controlled Editing & Robotics #1581: The Story Behind "The Orixa Project" Series of XR Experiences #1582: Shawn Taylor on Fandom for Social Change, Polychronic Time, Worldbuilding & Future Dreaming #1583: From XR Storytelling to Museum to Ice Cream to AI: Michaela Ternasky-Holland's Entry into Immersive #1584: White Paper on XR for Impact Campaign Activation for "On the Morning You Wake to the End of the World" #1585: Debating AI Project and a Curating Taiwanese LBE VR Exhibition at Museum of Moving Image #1586: Academic Research on Immersive Storytelling with Philippe Bedard, co-editor of "States of Immersion Across Media: Bodies, Techniques, Practices" book #1587: "Space-Time Adventure Tour" AR Guided Tour to NYC Central Park Monuments #1588: Excurio on Bringing their High-Throughput, XR LBE Theaters to North America #1589: Using VR to Paint Dreams for Active Imagination, Collaborative Dreamwork, and Symbolic Contemplation This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

I spoke with Kidus Hailesilassie about Uncharted VR at Tribeca Immersive 2025. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

I spoke with Eloise Singer & Lesley Paterson about Trailblazer with Daisy Ridley as a part of my remote coverage of Cannes Immersive 2025. See more context in the rough transcript below. Cannes Immersive Competition Lacuna -- #1577: Architecting a Multi-Threaded Narrative of Recovered Traumatic Memories in “Lacuna” – Voices of VR Podcast In the Current of Being -- #1531: In the Current of Being Uses Immersive Haptics to Tell the Story of Electroshock Conversation Therapy – Voices of VR Podcast From Dust -- #1494: Innovative VR Opera “From Dust” Combines GenAI Prompts, Digital Serenading, & Personality Branching – Voices of VR Podcast The Dollhouse -- #1578: Poetic Exploration of the Transmission of Class Power Dynamics in “The Dollhouse” – Voices of VR Podcast Beyond the Vivid Unknown -- #1333: AI Remix of 1982 Documentary “Koyaanisqatsi” with “The Vivid Unknown” Interactive Video Installation – Voices of VR Podcast LILI Taxi The Exploding Girl VR Windmills: A Rapa Out of Competition Trailblazer -- #1576: How Singer Studios Uses VR to Kickstart New Film, TV, Podcast, & Graphic Novel IP with “Trailblazer with Daisy Ridley” + Cannes Immersive 2025 Coverage – Voices of VR Podcast Trailblazer -- #1128: Combining Puzzle Mechanics with Environmental Storytelling in “Mrs. Benz” At my house Cannes Immersive Selection -- Focus Battlefield -- #1426: “Champ De Bataille” Uses Cinematic VR to Explore the Horrors and Emotion of World War I – Voices of VR Podcast This Is My Heart -- #1425: Immersive Art Installation “Ceci Est Mon Cœur” Uses the Poetry of Light to Explore Childhood Trauma – Voices of VR Podcast Floating with spirits -- #1290: “Floating with Spirits” Explores the Day of the Dead, Indigenous Transmissions, & Elemental Animism – Voices of VR Podcast Oto's Planet -- #1555: Award-Winning Tabletop Animation “Oto's Planet” Uses Unique Interactive Mechanic to Chose Perspective – Voices of VR Podcast Ito Meikyu This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

I spoke with Michaela Ternasky-Holland at the Immersive Design Summit 2019 about her entry into the immersive space, some of her early immersive storytelling projects, and working with at the Museum of Ice Cream as a creative assistant to the founder. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Join us in this episode with Jessica Nelson Kohel, founder and CEO of PMX Group, a niche product consultancy. Jessica discusses the intersections of product coaching, training, and consulting, and provides insights into the benefits of bringing outside perspectives into product teams. From supporting founder-led companies in scaling their product orgs to aiding new VPs of Product, Jessica shares engaging stories and valuable lessons on effective team dynamics, leadership, and immersive discovery processes. Learn about the importance of trust, the nuances of CEO-product leader relationships, and the power of collaborative coaching for product excellence.00:00 Welcome and Introduction00:27 Jessica's Background and PMX Group00:56 Transitioning to Consulting02:01 The Value of an Outside Perspective04:18 Challenges of Being an FTE05:54 The Rise of Super ICs09:08 Coaching and Upskilling Product Teams11:33 Immersive Discovery Approach17:31 Building Trust and Accurate Diagnosis20:23 Engaging with Stakeholders23:31 Supporting New Product Leaders42:49 Peer Coaching and Team Support

In this episode of The Digital Executive Podcast, host Brian Thomas sits down with Jared Navarre, a seasoned founder, strategist, and the creative force behind Zillion, a multi-sensory music and storytelling project. Jared shares insights from launching and exiting ventures across industries like IT, logistics, and entertainment, and reveals the foundational principles he looks for in any business—purpose, product-market fit, and real exit potential.Jared also dives deep into the evolution of Zillion, explaining how the project merges theatrical performance with hard rock, AR, and narrative-driven content. As technology like AI and immersive media reshape entertainment, Jared discusses both the limitless creative potential and the ethical responsibility creators face in ensuring that innovation doesn't erase the human soul of art.Join thousands of curious minds and never miss a beat – Subscribe to our Newsletter for exclusive insights, episode highlights, and expert takeaways delivered straight to your inbox.

Interview Summary So, you two, along with a number of other people in the field, wrote a chapter for a recently published book called The Handbook of Children and Screens. We discussed that book in an earlier podcast with its editors, Dmitri Christakis and Kris Perry, the executive director of the Children and Screens organization. And I'd like to emphasize to our listeners that the book can be downloaded at no cost. I'd like to read a quote if I may, from the chapter that the two of you wrote. 'Screen time continues to evolve with the advent of continuous and immersive video reels, voice activated assistance, social media influencers, augmented and virtual reality targeted advertising. Immersive worlds where children can virtually shop for food and beverages, cook or work in a fast-food outlet from a smartphone, a tablet, a computer, or an internet connected tv and more.' So as much as I follow the field, I still read that and I say, holy you know what. I mean that's just an absolutely alarming set of things that are coming at our children. And it really sounds like a tidal wave of digital sophistication that one could have never imagined even a short time ago. Amanda, let's start with you. Can you tell us a little bit more about these methods and how quickly they evolve and how much exposure children have? I think you're right, Kelly, that the world is changing fast. I've been looking at screen media for about 20 years now as a researcher. And in the earlier years, and Tom can attest to this as well, it was all about TV viewing. And you could ask parents how much time does your child spend watching TV? And they could say, well, they watch a couple shows every night and maybe a movie or two on the weekend, and they could come up with a pretty good estimate, 1, 2, 3 hours a day. Now, when we ask parents how much time their children spend with media, they have to stop and think, 'well, they're watching YouTube clips throughout the day. They're on their smartphone, their tablet, they're on social media, texting and playing all these different games.' It really becomes challenging to even get a grasp of the quantity of screen time let alone what kids are doing when they're using those screens. I will say for this book chapter, we found a really great review that summarized over 130 studies and found that kids are spending about three and a half or four hours a day using screens. Yet some of these studies are showing as high as seven or eight hours. I think it's probably under-reported because parents have a hard time really grasping how much time kids spend on screens. I've got a one-year-old and a five-year-old, and I've got some nieces and nephews and I'm constantly looking over their shoulder trying to figure out what games are they playing and where are they going online and what are they doing. Because this is changing really rapidly and we're trying to keep up with it and trying to make sure that screen time is a safe and perhaps healthy place to be. And that's really where a lot of our research is focused. I can only imagine how challenging it must be to work through that landscape. And because the technology advances way more quickly than the policies and legal landscape to control it, it really is pretty much whatever anybody wants to do, they do it and very little can be done about it. It's a really interesting picture, I know. We'll come back later and talk about what might be done about it. Tom, if you will help us understand the impact of all this. What are the effects on the diets of children and adolescents? I'm thinking particularly when Amanda was mentioning how many hours a day children are on it that three to four hours could be an underestimate of how much time they're spending. What did kids used to do with that time? I mean, if I think about when you and I were growing up, we did a lot of different things with that time. But what's it look like now? Well, that's one of the important questions that we don't really know a lot about because even experimental studies that I can talk about that look at reducing screen time have not been very good at being able to measure what else is going on or what substitutes for it. And so, a lot of the day we don't really know exactly what it's displacing and what happens when you reduce screen time. What replaces it? The assumption is that it's something that's more active than screen time. But, you know, it could be reading or homework or other sedentary behaviors that are more productive. But we really don't know. However, we do know that really the general consensus across all these studies that look at the relationship between screen time and nutrition is that the more time children spend using screens in general, the more calories they consume, the lower the nutritional quality of their diets and the greater their risk for obesity. A lot of these studies, as Amanda mentioned, were dominated by studies of television viewing, or looking at television viewing as a form of screen use. And there's much less and much more mixed results linking nutrition and obesity with other screens such as video games, computers, tablets, and smartphones. That doesn't mean those relationships don't exist. Only that the data are too limited at this point. And there's several reasons for that. One is that there just haven't been enough studies that single out one type of screen time versus another. Another is what Amanda brought up around the self-report issue, is that most of these studies depend on asking children or the parents how much time they spend using screens. And we know that children and adults have a very hard time accurately reporting how much time they're using screens. And, in fact when we measure this objectively, we find that they both underestimate and overestimate at times. It's not all in one direction, although our assumption is that they underestimate most of the time, we find it goes in both directions. That means that in addition to sort of not having that answer about exactly what the amount of screen time is, really makes it much tougher to be able to detect relationships because it adds a lot of error into our studies. Now there have been studies, as I mentioned, that have tried to avoid these limitations by doing randomized controlled trials. Including some that we conducted, in which we randomized children, families or schools in some cases to programs that help them reduce their screen time and then measure changes that occur in nutrition, physical activity, and measures of obesity compared to kids who are randomized to not receive those programs. And the randomized trials are really useful because they allow us to make a conclusion about cause-and-effect relationships. Some of these programs also targeted video games and computers as well as television. In fact, many of them do, although almost all of them were done before tablets and smartphones became very common in children. We still don't have a lot of information on those, although things are starting to come out. Most of these studies demonstrated that these interventions to reduce screen use can result in improved nutrition and less weight gain. And the differences seen between the treatment and control groups were sometimes even larger than those commonly observed from programs to improve nutrition and increased physical activity directly. Really, it's the strongest evidence we have of cause-and-effect relationships between screen use and poor nutrition and risk for obesity. Of course, we need a lot more of these studies, particularly more randomized controlled studies. And especially those including smartphones because that's where a lot of kids, especially starting in the preteen age and above, are starting to spend their time. But from what we know about the amount of apparent addictiveness that we see in the sophisticated marketing methods that are being used in today's media, I would predict that the relationships are even larger today than what we're seeing in all these other studies that we reviewed. It's really pretty stunning when one adds up all that science and it looks pretty conclusive that there's some bad things happening, and if you reduce screen time, some good things happen. So, Amanda, if you know the numbers off the top of your head, how many exposures are kids getting to advertisements for unhealthy foods? If I think about my own childhood, you know, we saw ads for sugar cereals during Saturday morning cartoon televisions. And there might have been a smattering if kids watch things that weren't necessarily just directed at kids like baseball games and stuff like that. But, and I'm just making this number up, my exposure to those ads for unhealthy foods might have been 20 a week, 30 a week, something like that. What does it look like now? That is a good question. Kelly. I'm not sure if anyone can give you a totally accurate answer, but I'll try. If you look at YouTube ads that are targeting children, a study found that over half of those ads were promoting foods and beverages, and the majority of those were considered unhealthy, low nutritional value, high calorie. It's hard to answer that question. What we used to do is we'd take, look at all the Saturday morning cartoons, and we'd actually record them and document them and count the number of food ads versus non-food ads. And it was just a much simpler time in a way, in terms of screen exposure. And we found in that case, throughout the '90s and early 2000s, a lot of food ads, a lot of instances of these food ads. And then you can look at food placement too, right? It's not an actual commercial, but these companies are paying to get their food products in the TV show or in the program. And it's just become much more complicated. I think it's hard to capture unless you have a study where you're putting a camera on a child, which some people are doing, to try to really capture everything they see throughout their day. It's really hard to answer, but I think it's very prolific and common and becoming more sophisticated. Okay, thanks. That is very helpful context. Whatever the number is, it's way more than it used to be. Definitely. And it also sounds as if and it's almost all for unhealthy foods, but it sounds like it's changed in other ways. I mean, at some point as I was growing up, I started to realize that these things are advertising and somebody's trying to sell me something. But that's a lot harder to discern now, isn't it with influencers and stuff built in the product placements and all that kind of stuff. So, to the extent we had any safeguards or guardrails in the beginning, it sounds like those are going to be much harder to have these days. That's right. It really takes until a child is 6, 7, 8 years old for them to even identify that this is a commercial. That this is a company that's trying to sell me something, trying to persuade. And then even older children are having to really understand those companies are trying to make money off the products that they sell, right? A lot of kids, they just look at things as face value. They don't discriminate against the commercial versus the non-commercial. And then like you're suggesting with social influencers, that they're getting paid to promote specific products. Or athletes. But to the child that is a character or a person that they've learned to love and trust and don't realize, and as adults, I think we forget sometimes too. That's very true. Amanda, let me ask about one thing that you and Tom had in your chapter. You had a diagram that I thought was very informative and it showed the mechanisms through which social media affects the diet and physical activity of children. Can you describe what you think some of the main pathways of influence might be? That figure was pretty fun to put together because we had a wonderful wealth of knowledge and expertise as authors on this chapter. And people provided different insight from the scientific evidence. I will say the main path we were trying to figure out how does this exposure to screen really explain changes in what children are eating, their risk for obesity, the inactivity and sedentary behavior they're engaging in? In terms of food, really what is I believe the strongest relationship is the exposure to food advertisement and the eating while engaging in screen time. You're getting direct consumption while you're watching screens, but also the taste preferences, the brand loyalty that's being built over time by constantly seeing these different food products consistently emerge as one of the strongest relationships. But we identified some other interesting potential mechanisms too. While kids are watching screens or engaging in screens, there's some evidence to indicate that they're not able to read their body as well. Their feelings of hunger, their feelings of satiety or fullness. That they're getting distracted for long periods of time. Also, this idea of instant gratification, just like the reward process of instant gratification with using the screen. They're so interactive. You can go online and get what you want and reach what you want. And the same thing is happening with food. It becomes habitual as well. Children get off of school and they go home, and they grab a snack, and they watch tv or they watch their YouTube clips or play their games. And it becomes an eating occasion that may not have otherwise existed. But they're just associating screen time with eating. There's some evidence even on screen time impacting inhibition and controlling impulse and memory. And that's more emerging, but it's interesting to just consider how this prolonged screen time where you're not interacting with someone in person, your eyes are focused on the screen, might actually be having other cognitive impacts that we may not even be aware of yet. If we ask the question why Is screen time having a bad impact on children and their diets? It's almost let us count the ways. There are a lot of possible things going on there. And speaking of that, there's one question in particular I'd like to ask you, Tom. Certainly marketing might affect what kids prefer. Like it might make them want to have a cereal or a beverage A or snack food B or whatever it happens to be. But could it also affect hunger? How much kids want to eat? I mean, you think, well, hunger is biological, and the body sends out signals that it's time to eat. How does that all figure in? The research suggests it can. Advertising in particular but even non-advertising references or images of food can trigger hunger and eating whether or not you felt hungry before you saw them. And I'm guessing almost everyone's experienced that themselves, where they see an image of food, and all of a sudden, they're craving it. It can be as simple as Pavlov's dogs, you know, salivating in response to cues about food. In addition, I think one of the mechanisms that Amanda brought up is this idea that when you're distracted with a screen, it actually overruns or overwhelms your normal feelings of fullness or satiety during eating. When distracted, people are less aware of how much they're eating. And when you're eating while using a screen, people tend to eat until they've finished the plate or the bag or the box, you know? And until that's empty, till they get to the bottom, instead of stopping when they start to get full. Well, there's sort of a double biological whammy going on there, isn't there? It is affecting your likelihood of eating in the first place, and how hungry you feel. But then it also is affecting when you stop and your satiety happening. And you put those two together there's a lot going on, isn't there? Exactly. And it's really one of the reasons why a lot of our programs to reduce weight gain and improve nutrition really put a lot of emphasis on not eating in front of screens. Because our studies have shown it accounts for a large proportion of the calories consumed during the day. Oh, that's so interesting. Amanda, you mentioned influencers. Tell us a little bit more about how this works in the food space. These social influencers are everywhere, particularly Instagram, TikTok, et cetera. Kids are seeing these all the time and as I mentioned earlier, you often build this trusting relationship with the influencer. And that becomes who you look to for fads and trends and what you should and shouldn't do. A lot of times these influencers are eating food or cooking or at restaurants, even the ones that are reaching kids. As you analyze that, oftentimes it's the poor nutrition, high calorie foods. And they're often being paid for the ads too, which as we discussed earlier, kids don't always realize. There's also a lot of misinformation about diet and dieting, which is of concern. Misinformation that could be harmful for kids as they're growing and trying to grow in a healthy way and eat healthy foods. But kids who may look to overly restrict their foods, for example, rather than eating in a healthier manner. So that's definitely a problem. And then also, oftentimes these social influencers really have these unattainable beauty standards. Maybe they're using a filter or maybe they are models or whatnot. They're projecting these ideal body images that are very difficult and sometimes inappropriate for children to try to attain. Now, we've seen this in other forms, right? We've seen this in magazines going back. We've seen this on websites. But now as soon as a kid turns on their smartphone or their tablet and they're online, it's in front of them all the time. And, and they're interacting, they're liking it, they're commenting and posting. I think the social influencers have just really become quite pervasive in children's lives. Somebody who's an influencer might be recording something that then goes out to lots and lots of people. They're eating some food or there's some food sitting in the background or something like that. And they're getting paid for it, but not saying they're getting paid for it. Probably very few people realize that money is changing hands in all of that, I'm suspecting, is that right? Yes, I do believe they're supposed to do hashtag ad and there are different indicators, but I'm not sure the accountability behind that. And I'm also not sure that kids are looking for that and really understand what that means or really care what that means. Okay. Because they're looking to sense what's popular. But there's an opportunity to perhaps further regulate, or at least to educate parents and kids in that regard that I think would be helpful. Tom, while we're on this issue of conflicts of interest, there was recent press coverage, and then there were reports by reporters at the Washington Post and The Examination showing that the food industry was paying dieticians to be influencers who then posted things favorable to industry without disclosing their funding. How big of a problem do you think this is sort of overall with professionals being paid and not disclosing the payments or being paid even if they disclose things. What kind of a negative impact that's having? Yes, I find it very concerning as you would guess, knowing me. And I believe one of the investigations found that about half of influencers who were being paid to promote foods, drinks, or supplements, didn't disclose that they were paid. It was quite a large magnitude. It goes throughout all types of health professionals who are supposed to be sources of quality information and professional organizations themselves which take advertising or take sponsorships and then don't necessarily disclose it. And you know in this day when we're already seeing drops in the public's trust in science and in research, I think this type of information, or this type of deception just makes it a lot worse. As you know, Kelly, there's quite a bit of research that suggests that being paid by a company actually changes the way you talk about their products and even conduct research in a way that's more favorable to those products. Whether you think it does or not, whether you're trying to be biased or not. Tom, just to insert one thing in my experience. If you ask people in the field, does taking money from industry affect the way scientists do their work and they'll almost always say yes. But if you say, does it influence your work, they'll almost always say no. There's this unbelievable blind spot. And one might conclude from what you were telling us is that disclosure is going to be the remedy to this. Like for the half of people who didn't disclose it, it would be okay if they took the money as long as they disclosed it. But you're saying that's obviously not the case. That there's still all kinds of bias going on and people who are hearing some disclosure don't necessarily discount what they're hearing because of it. And it's still a pretty bad kettle of fish, even if disclosure occurs. It's especially pernicious when it doesn't, but it seems even when disclosure happens, it's not much of a remedy to anything. But you may not agree. No, I definitely agree with that. And that's only, you know, part of it too because there's the other side of the audience that Amanda brought up as well. And in particular what kids, but also adults, how they react to disclosures. And, while it's been possible to teach people to recognize potential bias, you know, when there's a disclosure. And to make people aware, which is a good thing, we want disclosure, I guess, so people are aware to be more vigilant in terms of thinking about what biases may be in the messages. There's not much evidence that teaching people that or making them aware of that changes their behavior. They still believe the advertising. Right. They still act in the same way. It's still just as persuasive to them. One more little editorial insertion. The thing that has always puzzled me about disclosure is that it implies that there's something bad going on or else, why would you have to disclose it? And the solution seems not to disclose it, but not to do the bad thing. And it's like, I could come up and kick you in the leg, but it's okay if I disclose that I kick you in the leg. I mean, it just makes no sense to me. But let me move on to something different. Amanda, I'd like to ask you this. I assume the food industry gets a lot more impact and reach per dollar they spend from when the only option was to run ads on national television and now, they're doing things at much less expense, I think, that can have, you know, orders of magnitude more impact and things. But is my perception correct? And how do you think through that? I think of it like the Tupperware model, right? You're building these trusted local or national celebrities, spokespeople for kids. Oftentimes these young adults or teenagers who are doing funny things and they're engaging, and so you're building this trust like you did with the Tupperware. Where you go and train people to go out to people's homes and their neighbors and their friends and their church and sell the product. It's really similar just in an online space. I think you're right; the cost is likely much less. And yet the reach and even the way these influencers are paid is all about the interaction, the likes, the comments, that sort of thing. The reposts. It's become quite sophisticated, and clearly, it's effective because companies are doing this. And one other thing to mention we haven't talked about yet is the food companies themselves have hired young people who use humor as a way to create a following for the different brands or products. It's not a person now, it's either the branded character or the actual company itself. And I think that has great influence of building some loyalty to the brand early in life. So that child is growing up and not only persuading their parents to purchase these products, but as they have more disposable income, they're going to continue purchasing the product. I wonder if Edward Tupper or I don't know if I remember his first name right, but I wonder if you could have ever imagined the how his plastic invention would permeate more of society than he ever thought? Tom, what about the argument that it's up to parents to decide and to monitor what their children are exposed to and the government needs to back off. Oh, it would be so nice if they were that easy, wouldn't it? If we could depend on parents. And I think every parent would love to be able to do that. But we're talking about individual parents and their kids who are being asked to stand up against billions, literally billions and billions of dollars spent every year to get them to stay on their screens as long as possible. To pay attention to their marketing, as Amanda was talking about the techniques they use. And to really want their products even more. If you could think of a parent with endless knowledge and time and resources, even they are really unable to stand up to such powerful forces working against them. Unfortunately, and this is not unique to the issues of screens in children's health, but really many of the issues around health, that in the absence of government regulation and really lack of any oversight, this really difficult job is dumped on parents. You know, not their choice, but it's sort of in their lap. We still try and help them to be better at this. While we're waiting for our elected representatives to stand up to lobbyists and do their jobs, we still in a lot of our interventions we develop, we still try and help parents as well as schools, afterschool programs, teachers, health professionals, develop the skills to really help families resist this pool of media and marketing. But that shouldn't be the way it is. You know, most parents are really already doing the best they can. But it's drastically unfair. It's really an unfair playing field. That all makes good sense. We've been talking thus far about the negative impacts of media, but Amanda, you've done some work on putting this technology to good use. Tell us about that if you will. I do enjoy trying to flip the script because technology is meant to help us, not harm us. It's meant to make our lives more efficient, to provide entertainment. Now with video chatting, to provide some social connection. A lot of my work over the past 20 years has been looking at what's commercially available, what kids are using, and then seeing let's test these products or these programs and can we flip them around to promote healthier eating? To promote physical activity? Can we integrate them for kids who are in a weight management program? Can we integrate the technology to really help them be successful? It doesn't always work, and we certainly aren't looking to increase screen time, but we also need to recognize that achieving zero hours of screen time is really unattainable pretty much universally. Let's try to evaluate the screen time that is being used and see if we can make it healthier. A few examples of that include when the Nintendo Wii came out about 18 years ago now. I was part of a group that was one of the first to test that video game console system because up until that point, most of the games you sat down to play, you held a remote in your hand. There were Dance Dance Revolution games and arcade halls so you could do a little bit of movement with games. But pretty much they were sedentary. Nintendo Wii came out and really changed a lot because now you had to get up off the couch, move your body, move your arms and legs to control the game. And we found it cut across all demographics. Men, women, boys, girls, different age groups. There was content available for a lot of different groups. These types of games became really popular. And I did some of the earlier studies to show that at least in a structured program that kids can engage in what we call moderate levels of physical activity. They're actually moving their bodies when they play these games. And over time, I and others have integrated these games into programs as a way to be an in with kids who may not be involved in sports, may not go outside to play, but they're willing to put on a video game and move in their living room at home. Building from that, we've developed and tested various apps. Some of these apps directly reach the parents, for example, teaching the parents. These are strategies to get your child to eat healthier. Prepare healthier meals, grocery shop, be more physically active as a family. We've looked at different wearables, wristwatches that can help kids and parents. Maybe they'll compete against each other to try to get the most steps of a day and that sort of thing. And then some of my recent work is now integrating chatbots and artificial intelligence as ways to provide some tailored feedback and support to kids and families who are looking to be more physically active, eat healthier. And then one study I'm really excited about uses mixed reality. This is virtual reality where you're putting on a headset. And for that study we are integrating children's homework that they would otherwise do on their Chromebook. And we're removing the keyboard and computer mouse so that they now have to use their body to click and point and drag and move the screen. And these are just a few examples. I do not think this is the magical solution. I think as Tom alluded to, there are different levels of government regulation, educating parents, working with schools. There's working with the food industry. There's a lot that we need to do to make this a healthier media space for kids. But I think this is something we should be open to, is figuring out if people are going to spend a lot of time using screens, what can we do to try to make those screens healthier? You make me smile when I'm hearing that because all these things sound really exciting and like there's plenty of potential. And you're right, I mean, if they're going to be on there anyway, maybe there can be some positive way to harness that time. And those all sound really important and really good. And let's hope that they spread enough to really touch lots and lots of children and their families. Tom, you and I keep caught up. We see each other at professional meetings or we just have periodic phone calls where we tell each other what we're up to. And you've been telling me over the past couple years about this really amazing project you're heading up tracking screen usage. Could you tell us a little bit about that? I'd love to. Really it addresses the problem that came up before, which is really how we measure what people are doing and seeing on their screens. Basically all the studies of media effects for the past a hundred plus years that the field has been studying media, has been dependent on people telling us what they do and what they saw. When in fact, we know that's not particularly accurate. So now we have technology that allows us to track exactly what people are doing and seeing on their screens. We call this screenomics, like genomics, except instead of studying how genes affect us, it's studying how screens affect us and how the screens we experience in our lives really are a reflection of our lives. The way we are doing this is we put software on your phone or your laptop, and it can be on other screens as well, and it runs in the background and takes a screenshot every five seconds. And it covers everything on the screen because it's just taking a picture of the screen. All the words, all the images. Then we use AI to help us decipher [00:34:00] what was on those screens. And so far, we've collected over 350 million screenshots from several hundred adults and teenagers who've participated in our studies for periods of six months to a year. Some of our most interesting findings, I think, is how much idiosyncrasy there is in people's screen use. And this has a huge impact on how we do research on the effects of screens, I believe. Because no two people really have the same screenomes, which is what we call the sequence of screenshots that people experience. And even for the same person, no two hours or days or weeks are the same. We're looking at both how different people differ in their screen use, and how that's related to their mental health, for example. But also how changes over time in a single person's screenome is related to their mental health, for example. Comparing your screen use this afternoon to your screen use this morning or yesterday, or last week or last month. And how that changes your health or is at least associated with changes in your health at this point. Eventually, we hope to move this into very precise interventions that would be able to monitor what your screen experience is and give you an appropriate either change in your screen or help you change your behavior appropriate to what you're feeling. One of our current studies is to learn really the details of what, when, how, why, and where foods and beverages appear in adolescent screenomes. And how these factors relate to foods and beverages they consume and their health. In fact, we're currently recruiting 13- to 17-year-olds all over the US who can participate in this study for six months of screenome collection and weekly surveys we do with them. Including detailed surveys of what they're eating. But this sort of goes back to an issue that came up before that you had asked us about how much is advertising? I can tell you that at least some of our preliminary data, looking at a small number of kids, suggests that food, it varies greatly across kids and what they're experiencing, especially on their phones. And, we found, for example, one young girl who 37% of all her screens had food on them. About a third, or more than a third of her entire screenome, had food in it. And it wasn't just through advertising and it wasn't just through social media or influencers. It was everywhere. It was pictures she was taking of food. It was influencers she was following who had food. It was games she was playing that were around food. There are games, they're all about running a restaurant or making food and serving and kitchen work. And then there were also videos that people watched that are actually fairly popular among where you watch other people eat. Apparently it's a phenomenon that came out of Korea first. And it's grown to be quite popular here over the last several years in which people just put on their camera and show themselves eating. I mean, nothing special, nothing staged, just people eating. There's all kinds of food exists everywhere throughout the screenome, not just in one place or another, and not just in advertising. Tom, a study with a hundred data points can be a lot. You've got 350 million, so I wish you the best of luck in sorting all that out. And boy, whatever you find is going to be really informative and important. Thanks for telling us about this. I'd like to end with kind of a basic question to each of you, and that is, is there any reason for hope. Amanda, let's, let's start with you. Do you see any reason to be optimistic about all this? We must be optimistic. No matter how we're facing. We have no choice. I think there's greater awareness. I think parents, policy makers, civic leaders are really recognizing this pervasive effective screen use on mental health, eating, obesity risk, even just the ability to have social interactions and talk to people face to face. And I think that's a good sign. I've seen even in my own state legislature in Louisiana, bills going through about appropriately restricting screens from schools and offering guidance to pediatricians on counseling related to screen use. The American Academy of Pediatrics changed their guidelines a number of years ago. Instead of just saying, no screens for the really little ones, and then limit to fewer than two hours a day for the older ones. They recognized and tried to be more practical and pragmatic with family. Sit down as a family, create some rules, create some boundaries. Make sure you're being healthy with your screen use. Put the screens away during mealtime. Get the screens out of the bedroom. And I think going towards those more practical strategies that families can actually do and sustain is really positive. I'd like to remain optimistic and let's just keep our eyes wide open and talk to the kids too. And ask the kids what they're doing and get them part of this because it's so hard to stay up to date on the technology. Thanks. I appreciate that positive note. Tom, what do you think? Yeah, I agree with Amanda. I can be positive about several things. First of all, I think last year, there were two bills, one to protect child privacy and the other to regulate technology aimed at children. COPPA 2.0 (Children's Online Private Protection Act) and KOSA (Kid's Online Safety Act). And they passed the Senate overwhelmingly. I mean, almost unanimously, or as close as you can get in our current senate. Unfortunately, they were never acted upon by the house, but in the absence of federal legislature regulation, we've had, as Amanda mentioned, a lot of states and also communities where they have actually started to pass bills or regulate social media. Things like prohibiting use under a certain age. For example, social media warning labels is another one. Limiting smartphone use in schools has become popular. However, a lot of these are being challenged in the courts by tech and media industries. And sadly, you know, that's a strategy they've borrowed, as you know well, Kelly, from tobacco and food industry. There also have been attempts that I think we need to fight against. For the federal legislature or the federal government, congress, to pass legislation to preempt state and local efforts, that would not allow states and local communities to make their own laws in this area. I think that's an important thing. But it's positive in that we're hearing advocacy against that, and people are getting involved. I'm also glad to hear people talking about efforts to promote alternative business models for media. I believe that technology itself is not inherently good or bad, as Amanda mentioned, but the advertising business models that are linked to this powerful technology has inevitably led to a lot of these problems we're seeing. Not just in nutrition and health, but many problems. Finally, I see a lot more parent advocacy to protect children and teens, especially around tech in schools and around the potential harms of social media. And more recently around AI even. As more people start to understand what the implications of AI are. I get the feeling these efforts are really starting to make a difference. Organizations, like Fair Play, for example, are doing a lot of organizing and advocacy with parents. And, we're starting to see advocacy in organizing among teens themselves. I think that's all really super positive that the public awareness is there, and people are starting to act. And hopefully, we'll start to see some more action to help children and families. Bios Developmental psychologist Dr. Amanda Staiano is an associate professor and Director of the Pediatric Obesity & Health Behavior Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. She also holds an adjunct appointment in LSU's Department of Psychology. Dr. Staiano earned her PhD in developmental psychology and Master of Public Policy at Georgetown University, followed by a Master of Science in clinical research at Tulane University. Her primary interest is developing and testing family-based healthy lifestyle interventions that utilize innovative technology to decrease pediatric obesity and its comorbidities. Her research has involved over 2500 children and adolescents, including randomized controlled trials and prospective cohorts, to examine the influence of physical activity and sedentary behavior on body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors. Thomas N. Robinson, MD, MPH is the Irving Schulman, MD Endowed Professor in Child Health, Professor of Pediatrics and of Medicine, in the Division of General Pediatrics and the Stanford Prevention Research Center at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Healthy Weight at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. Dr. Robinson focuses on "solution-oriented" research, developing and evaluating health promotion and disease prevention interventions for children, adolescents and their families to directly inform medical and public health practice and policy. His research is largely experimental in design, conducting school-, family- and community-based randomized controlled trials to test the efficacy and/or effectiveness of theory-driven behavioral, social and environmental interventions to prevent and reduce obesity, improve nutrition, increase physical activity and decrease inactivity, reduce smoking, reduce children's television and media use, and demonstrate causal relationships between hypothesized risk factors and health outcomes. Robinson's research is grounded in social cognitive models of human behavior, uses rigorous methods, and is performed in generalizable settings with diverse populations, making the results of his research more relevant for clinical and public health practice and policy.